Apparently, losing one of the county’s leading rushers to graduation in June is not going to affect the Creekview Grizzlies.
Throwing a barrage of backs at the Sequoyah defense, the Grizzlies racked up 321 yards on the ground and rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit to knock off the homestanding Chiefs, 17-13, Friday night at Skip Pope Stadium in Hickory Flat.
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Brandon Michea | Ledger-News
Firing off an arsenal of running backs at rival Sequoyah, the Creekview Grizzlies racked up 321 yards on the ground – led by 96 yards from sophomore Will Kirby (26) – en route to a 17-13 victory over the Chiefs, Friday night at Skip Pope Stadium in Hickory Flat.
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“It’s a huge win.” said Creekview coach Al Morrell , whose team lost 1,100-yard rusher Hunter Livingston to graduation. “This is really our only natural rivalry on our 10-game schedule, and I felt coming into this game that the winner was going to put themselves in a very good position here early on to finish in the top four in our region and make the playoffs.
“But it’s still a long season.”
Following a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ben Rogers to fellow senior A.J. Howard that put Sequoyah on top 13-3 with 6:33 left in the third quarter, the Chiefs looked as if they were set to lock down the game.
Starting the ensuing possession on their own 28, Creekview managed just 1 yard on the first two plays and faced a third-and-9. That, however, is when Grizzlies quarterback Cody Allen changed the game.
Taking the snap, Allen worked his way through the left side of the line, broke a few tackles and was off and running for a 36-yard gain. Six plays later, Jay El-Amin rushed in from 8 yards out to cut Creekview’s deficit to 13-10.
“It was a quarterback draw, and I thought they had it covered very well," Morrell said. "[Allen] had to break a couple of tackles, and it showed the heart, the ability and desire he has.
“It was a turning point in the game.”
“We told our kids that the whole game hinged on that one single play,” Chiefs’ coach James Teter said. “It’s third down and long and we stop him for maybe a 1-yard gain if we tackle him, but we let him squirt through … That’s where they regained the momentum and took it over.”
And take over they did, as the Grizzlies forced Sequoyah to a three-and-out on its next possession, then opened the fourth quarter with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by El-Amin’s second score – a 40-yard sprint off the right side.
“He was a JV player last year, but he came in tonight and hit a different gear,” Morrell said of his junior back. “He got into the secondary and there was definitely a difference in speed between him and everyone else on the field.
“I was real proud of him.”
Sequoyah continued to battle, but back-to-back holding penalties killed the ensuing drive and Rogers was hit by a pair of Grizzlies as he reached the first down marker and fumbled away what proved to be Sequoyah’s final possession.
Highlighted by his two scores, El-Amin finished the night with 72 yards on five carries, while sophomore Will Kirby totaled 93 yards on 10 touches, and Eric Smith and Donevan Deal combined for 76 yards on five carries apiece. Allen, meanwhile, completed a pair of passes for 63 yards and rushed for 43 more.
Leading Sequoyah, Timmy Swaney rushed for 42 yards, Howard made four grabs for 62 yards and score, and Rogers threw for 112 yards and rushed for 46 and a touchdown.
Starting the game with the ball, Creekview wasted little time marching down the field to get into scoring position, as Kirby had runs of 15 and 38 yards and Deal carried twice for 14 yards to give the Grizzlies first-and-goal on the Sequoyah 3.
The Chiefs’ defense, however, came up large, stuffing Creekview’s next three rush attempts and forcing the Grizzlies to settle on a 20-yard Tyler Hamilton field goal.
Creekview worked its way deep into Sequoyah territory in each of its next two possessions, only to continue to be turned away by the Chiefs, who forced a turnover on downs at the 17 and broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 5.
The Sequoyah offense, meanwhile, found the end zone midway through the second quarter, as Rogers closed out a 17-play, 83-yard drive that ate up 8 minutes and 23 seconds with a one-yard scoring plunge.
But after the Chiefs opened the second-half with a nine-play, 42-yard drive that ended with the Rogers to Howard scoring strike, Creekview found its rhythm.
“We felt like we moved the ball all over the field in the first half, but when we got in the red zone, we just couldn’t stick it in,”
Morrell said. “There really were not a lot of adjustments we had to make, it was just a matter of the kids executing the offense, making the plays and making the blocks.
“We kept playing hard and the holes started to open up.”
Looking for a win its seventh-straight and 16th out of its last 17 regular season games, Creekview hosts Northwest Whitfield (0-1) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., while Sequoyah travels to Johns Creek.
According to Teter, it’s pretty simple what the Chiefs need to work on if they are to right the ship.
“We better learn how to tackle,” he said. “That’s what it all came down to (Aug. 27). We didn’t tackle and Creekview did. “But the best thing about a full-region schedule is that half the region happy right now and half the region is sad, but we all still have a chance to get into the playoffs. We’ll be all right. We’ll fix things this week and bounce back.”
